Brother or Mother?
by Fighteratheart
Summary: Taylor wasn't the only one who had a child come to Terra Nova and betray it. Wash's daughter, Natalie, returns after being injured OTG and dropped off at the gates by Lucas. She struggles with reconnecting with Wash and Taylor after being gone for a few years, while Lucas continues with his plans. It all comes down to her decision, who will she pick: Taylor and Wash or Lucas?
1. Let Her Go

Carefully, not wanting to alarm the animal, Natalie took small steps with her hand out and the plant in hand. She reached the dinosaur and started to place a hand on the side of his face, below his right eye when his tail whipped round hit her in the side, throwing her with great force against the cave wall.

She cried out in pain, letting out a gasp in the process, releasing the breath she hadn't realized she was holding. Her eyes were cracked opened, her body felt broken and while she'd been sick several times in her life, in this moment Natalie had ever felt more weak. Her body was shutting down, all that fight in her was gone, she couldn't feel her hands or feet anymore, her legs and arms were also becoming numb. Blood dripped out of the back of her head and down onto her hair and neck.

The last thing Natalie saw was Mike, her five-pound pet dinosaur getting outfaced by the undiscovered carnivore; the last thing she felt was immense pain in the back of her head. Then it was darkness.

~•~Flashback~•~

_The nine-year-old was scared. She'd never traveled this far out before, the colony wasn't in sight, all she could see was trees and leaves and bushes. She had to keep moving, she had to find him, that was her secret mission. Natalie took more steps, each one making a loud crunching noise – she still hadn't gotten the hang of being quiet. Her steps came to a stop when she heard a twig snap. If it was just that she would've continued, but a voice had followed._

_"Nat." Lucas called, softly not wanting to alarm her. Though, he did say it a little loud since he was happy since he finally got to see her._

_She whipped around and it only took a second for Natalie to launch herself into his arms, "Lucas!"_

_"It's alright, Tal. It's me. I've got you." He hugged her tight, refusing to let go. He still didn't know if he believed it was real. He had been alone ever since his banishment, it was just him with the wildlife. Once you've been in solitude for about 500 days with just calculations and hope to guide you, it makes you question your sanity._

_When Natalie pulled back, she looked at him with a serious, yet playful look, "You stink."_

_He laughed, a full laugh, something he hadn't done in a long time. "It's good to see you. I'm glad you finally got here and are better." Lucas told her, his voice sincere._

_Kid time was over now. "Where have you been?!" Natalie shouted, demanding like an angry wife. "What happened to you? You went missing and-" Her voice was back to the soft, young girl and face marred sadness and confusion._

_"So that's the story he's telling..." Lucas mused, not focused on the emotions the child was feeling. He was focused on his rage towards his father. "How is the great Commander? Apologize for leaving you behind? Or is that beneath him? Has your mother even apologized for leaving you behind, sick and helpless?"_

_Hurt marred on her face for the last comment, "Huh? You think I'm helpless? I was sick...I." She trailed off, her voice uneasy and unsure. "They didn't leave me." She didn't know if she believed it, it felt more like she was trying to convince herself. Confused, she asked, "Luke, what do you mean?"_

~•~End of Flashback~•~

"Nat, wake up. Come on. Natalie, wake up. Please." Lucas begged, holding the bleeding, broken, limp body in his arms. He had attempted to stop the bleeding but there was only so much he could do. He had just left for a short time, gone to the falls, and she'd already gotten herself in trouble.

This wasn't the first time he'd found her unconscious, this was just the first time caused by the wildlife, before it was her illness, slowly working on killing her until she found that plant. Helped her function, didn't cure her, but she wasn't that sickly child she once was.

"Lucas?" Natalie groaned having woken up. She first smiled at him, then she coughed up some blood.

"Tally, you're alright." He breathed and brushed a strand from her face, uncovering her big brown eyes that started to shine with tears.

"No, I'm not." She shook her head as far as her stiff neck allowed her to. "I can't-I can't do it. I can't fight." Natalie wanted to bang her head on the grass it hurt so bad, but Lucas' hand was underneath her head and he secured her head in it's place (a replacement for a neck brace, something they obviously didn't have), it prevented her from doing that or sitting up.

"Tal, you can't give up, please..." He trailed off not knowing what else to say. He already looked at her head and while he wasn't a doctor, he knew her skull was fractured – the reason why he couldn't apply pressure to the wound to stop the bleeding – plus she had several cuts that needed to be tended to and that's just what he knew.

Her cheeks became red, as sadness and pain took over and tears started streaming down her cheeks, "I can't move. I can't feel my arms, my legs, my hips. I hurt! I'm in pain! I just-please, please make it stop!" Natalie exclaimed. "I want it to be over." She whispered. She had fought so long, experienced more pain then she wanted and while joy was apart of her life, she couldn't bare to do this anymore. She was in a battle and needed her battle armor, but she didn't have the fight in her to get it and continue on.

That was not an option in Lucas' opinion, so he started to think of ideas but of course his options were limited. Outside here, they had limited amount of supplies, their medical supplies was gone – Natalie had decided to help injured dinosaurs with it, Lucas disagreed. His opinion would've mattered if she thought about times like this, but at the time she just ignored him and rattled on and on about how they were useless to her. She also hastened to add that she brought the med-kit, not him, making them her supplies, for her to use, at her will and hers only. They argued a lot at that, but she was stubborn. And right now, that may be the only thing going for her.

Except...an idea formed in his head and he stood up quickly.

"Stay awake. I'll be right back."

"Where-Aw!" Natalie cut herself off with a cry of pain. "Ok, I'll-I'll try." She said, her voice stuttering slightly.

Concerned at the change, Lucas ran across the forest searching for the plant. He forget where it grew, it was Natalie who picked it, unless she became too bad then he did it but she told him the locations. It was hard to find though, while it was distinctive, it blended in with the greenery easily, at least the ones that aren't edible, which are mixed in. The plant was close and after four minutes he found it after he remembered the location. he avoided the green pea pod-shaped ones and plucked the black one; it already had the small almost clear-colored, light blue beads peeping through the seems like it was supposed to, or at least that's what was thought.

It only took a minute for Lucas to arrive where he left Natalie since he actually knew where he was going and he could run since he wasn't going to miss anything, unless you count tree roots, something he was more than happy to miss. When he got there though, while Natalie was there she was unconscious and her condition had worsened.

Lucas cursed; there was blood coming out her nose and settling on her slightly parted lips, painting them red. The herb would be useless to her now. Even if he could get to her, the bleeding, the skull fracture...he knew what had to be done.

Without anymore thought, Lucas scooped her up, securing one arm under her neck to keep it steady and another under her knees. It was difficult to carry her, not just physically because he wasn't that strong, but because he had to avoid bumps since her head shouldn't be jiggled in her condition. In the silence, he started to think about his plan, he couldn't enter Terra Nova, so that meant dropping her off by the gates. Would she be found? Would she get medical attention in time? Would she be locked in the brig? Would he ever get to see her again? He knew the answer to that, no, at least not until he finishes his calculations then he'll make sure she is taken out before the fighting. Or he'll have Mira's people finally be useful and get her out.

He would get her out. After they saved her, if his father or her mother by any means did any wrong by her, he'll burn them with Terra Nova along with anyone who ever hurt her.

* * *

><p>They were over halfway there when Lucas noticed blood drip from her ears and he panicked. He called her name twice and no response. He shook her slightly, holding tighter onto her neck to keep it steady. With no response he hurried up his pace trying to get to Terra Nova in time, it made it more bumpy. The bumpiness caused her pain and after a severe bump causing a severe jolt of pain to her back, she woke up.<p>

The moan caught Lucas' attention and he looked at her, relief his features, "Tally?"

The most coherent response she could form in that moment was, "Mm-hm." It was somewhere between a confirmation and a cry of concealed pain.

"I thought you were- you're alive, that's all that matters." Lucas stated.

Feeling something in her ear, something that felt familiar, she looked at Lucas, "I'm bleeding. My ear." He nodded. "I'm dead."

"What? No! You're going to survive."

"I'm dying." She corrected her earlier statement. She knew it, she may be confused, her skull having been damaged, but she spent a lot of time in the hospital, she knew what death was.

Not knowing what to say, Lucas continued to carry her to Terra Nova. The soft moan she made when he jiggled her made him look at her only for him to look back ahead. Terra Nova was nearing and he would get her there before she passed out.

When her eyes started to close Lucas ordered, "Natalie, stay awake."

"Mm-hm." She murmured, her eyes opening but closing again.

"We're almost there." Lucas told her as he prayed that he got there in time.

It took four minutes of walking as fast as possible before his destination came into view through the foliage.

He knew he couldn't stay, but that didn't mean he didn't regret not being able to say goodbye, at least not while she was conscious and would remember.

"Nat, Tal. Natalie! Wake up." Lucas commanded. "We're here, you need to wake up."

After a moment and no response, Lucas heard distance sounds of rovers. Gently, he leaned over and placed a soft kiss on her forehead, "I love you. Bye, Tally." Then Lucas disappeared into the forest without a trace.

* * *

><p>Lt. Washington ran through the forest with her gun raised and a team of soldiers around her. They were searching for the two heat signatures the guard tower had spotted OTG. They assumed sixers 'cause who else would be OTG just after night had fallen? There was Curren, but he knew better then to come back to the colony.<p>

She was combing through the forest when she heard, "I got something!" It was from a distant soldier.

She nodded at Miller, the soldier beside her to follow and they went over to the calling soldier. He wasn't alarmed which made her curious what he found. It wouldn't be an alive sixer...so who or what was it?

When she got to the area where a few soldiers were gathered, Reilly, a medic, was kneeling next to the girl and it was only when Wash took a step over to where the gap was she saw the face. Lying there was her daughter, Natalie Marie Washington.


	2. Coming Home

**Authors Notes:** Happy Holidays! I didn't do authors notes on my first chapter, but I'll do it on this one. First off, hi. I'm glad you guys are enjoying my story. Second, I want to apologize for any typos or grammar mistakes, I'm writing this on my iPad and I'm still in school. I want to forewarn you that I have a lot of medical issues so while I do have more time on my hands, I have homework to make up, doctors to visit and pain to deal with. I got back from the hospital today so I'm updating this late (or at least it is for me), but I really wanted to update.

Story takes place post-Bylaw, but pre-Nightfall.

Sorry if it's too short, I'll update sooner (I hope).

—

Alicia was concerned. She'd seen the gash on Natalie's head before they'd moved her and brought her back to Terra Nova and it wasn't good. Her hair was soaked in her blood, but once Wash moved it away she saw the open cut with the deformed bone. Being a medic and having seen her fair share of injuries, Wash knew the severity of head injuries, she also knew what skull fracture was. The damage to her head was extensive and even with their advanced technology, an open fracture can be fatal. If not, it could cause infections and with her that will certainly slow down her recovery and could make it fatal.

Dr. Shannon took her into surgery, no words except for her condition were exchanged. Since that moment three minutes ago, Wash has stood patiently, her back pressed against the wall as she stared at the wall part of the room Dr. Shannon took Natalie into.

"Wash, you alright?" Jim asked, looking at the visibly tense lieutenant. When they were going back to the colony, Wash radioed for Dr. Shannon, when she mentioned a girl being OTG, Jim quickly decided to come.

"I'm fine." She bit out, her eyes not leaving the room throughout the sentence.

It wasn't until several seconds later the door opened and the commander walked in. He marched straight to Wash, "She's back?"

Wash's conversation with Taylor over the comm.'s involved more detail, such as the victim being found was her missing daughter.

Alicia turned her head slightly and barely met his eyes, "Yes, sir." It was more of a breath than a firm confirmation, but he still got his answer.

"Where is she?" Nathaniel heard she was injured but she wasn't in any of the bio-beds, at least he hadn't seen her in any of them.

"Surgery. Doc took her back three minutes ago. She was non-responsive."

"Any idea who dropped her off?"

"The sixers." Wash answered, remembering the day the sixers left, was the same day her daughter left too. Part of Wash hoped she was taken, just so she could kick someone's ass and not have to deal with knowing her daughter left _her_.

"Or..." The second option was left hanging, the suggestion not being said out loud for Taylor's sake.

But Nathaniel knew, "Lucas." He stated, it was a realization, a cold-hard fact he knew for sure. Wash knew it too, and when Natalie woke up, she would tell them the same thing.

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Dr. Shannon looked at the datapad in her hands showing the scans then turned her attention back to the unconscious bruised girl. The surgery had been completed, the bone was put back in it's place and the open wound was sewed up. Scans had already been run, a few more they were still waiting on to finish and a couple wouldn't be done until she woke up. The ones that had been done were just showing up problems asking for more tests, more surgery, more medicine and stitches.

Elisabeth exited the patient's room after verifying she was stable. She had all the tests results needed, it was time to inform the Commander and Lieutenant about her status, she'd been notified they were waiting with Jim. They were most likely exhausted from being stopped from going to bed and waiting several hours for the surgery to finish.

When she entered the room they were waiting in, Wash and Taylor were sitting next to each other finishing the work they were working on prior to Wash being called OTG, Wash was distracted, though. Next to them Jim sat, tuning them out.

"I finished the surgery." Elisabeth announced getting their attention.

"How is she?" Wash asked, concern and worry etched on her face.

"She has a compound fracture to her skull, we stitched up the gash and placed the bone back in it's place but the internal damage it caused we can't know. She also comminuted her wrist, we repaired the damage to the fractured ulna and distal radius bone, she should be able to use her wrist in a few weeks. Her eleventh and twelfth rib are cracked. There were some lacerations we had to stitch up – all of the deep lacerations had fragments of rocks in the openings."

"But she'll be alright?" Despite everything, Nathaniel still cared for her. Even if he didn't, he cared for Wash and Wash cared for Natalie.

Before Elisabeth could reply, Alicia asked, "What else?"

"She had a contusion and slipped into a coma."

Those words send Alicia's world crippling down. She'd just found her daughter again, and now she'd lost her once more.

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Wash looked at her frail and broken daughter. She was pale. Her eyes were closed, her head was bandaged and she had a ventilator on. Her body was covered with a hospital gown, despite it, you could see her ribs from not having enough to eat. Her bony, yet muscular arms laid lifeless beside her. The wrist she had fractured was bandaged and in a cast. The cuts marring her legs from her accident were covered up, by both bandages and her gown, but they were still visible.

"She'll wake up." Taylor spoke from behind her.

"And if she doesn't?" Alicia's voice carried much emotion despite her attempt to keep her military facade. When it came to Nathaniel though, she could let her guard down.

"She's a stubborn girl." Nathaniel met the unguarded brown eyes of Alicia, full of love and care for her daughter. "She gets that from you."

Wash smiled slightly, but it disappeared quickly, "She has to want to be saved."

"Wash, I've watched you blame yourself for two years. Natalie made her own choices, she chose to leave. Can't blame yourself for doing what you thought was best. It was a difficult situation. You didn't leave her behind, she got sick."

"She still left."

"And said hateful things in the process." Wash gave him a slightly insubordinate look, along the lines of a sarcastic '_thanks'_, but they were off the clock– he wouldn't call her on it.

Nathaniel rested his hand on her shoulder in a confronting way, "You'll fix your relationship."

"Now, get some sleep, soldier." Taylor ordered. "You got dawn patrol in a few hours."

In light of everything, Wash cracked a smile.

—

**Author's Notes:** Not so much of giving a full backstory for Natalie, but I will. I wrote a scene (I think that's what these parts are called) with more details about her past and it was more emotional, seemed OOC for Wash and I just didn't like it as much. It had some Wash/Taylor in it but it was like two lines at the end and I felt I needed to add more even if it was them talking about Natalie. I will have just Wash/Taylor scenes where Natalie isn't involved later but right now I can't do that.

Anyway, I'm glad I finished this. I'll be starting on the next chapter soon, I already have it planned out (and the rest of the story). I have other stories in my head but I think I'm gonna try and focus on this since I can't stick with my main one, or at least get it to make sense.


	3. Wake Up

Happy New Years! I'm gonna make this short. One, I hope you had a good New Years Eve or whatever and are enjoying the new year. Two, I'm sorry I haven't uploaded, I was put on a medicine that was suppose to help and it had the side effect of making you wide awake and go insane but I was weird. Anyway, I've been sleeping non-stop and having odd hours that past few days. I finally edited this and I think it's good. Hope you enjoy!

I'll try and update soon.

* * *

><p>"Good morning, lieutenant." Taylor greeted Wash when she joined him that morning at dawn right on time, just like every morning, except this was far from on a normal morning. Even when she got only a couple of hours of sleep, she always pulled through and had a friendly conversation with him.<p>

"Sir." Wash nodded at him, falling into step with him and together they set out for heir patrol.

"How'd you sleep?" Taylor asked.

"Fine, sir."

"Good, good. Ready for the day?" He was really trying hard to make conversation and keep her mind off the one person she was worried about. It didn't work, of course.

"Yes, sir." Wash said.

He knew she wasn't handling this the best way, she was just handling it her way. Wash would pretend everything was fine, put on a show for her boys and keep with her routine. She would visit Natalie, Taylor knew that for sure – he witnessed how she was when he had her exit.

At the time, it had already been closed to visitors, but Taylor talked to Dr. Shannon and insisted she made an exception, if only for five minutes. Elisabeth agreed once he explained to her their relationship. Once their five minutes passed they had to leave, Taylor took her home where he had to order her to bed. Wash reluctantly complied and she had left Natalie's old room that still stood across from her own bedroom.

They only got five almost six hours of sleep, not too bad considering. Their sleep was far from peaceful, though – memories of Lucas had flooded back to their mind and everything surrounding him and the Sixers.

As they walked the perimeter, they spoke to some of the soldiers on duty and pointed out possible security breeches. It was silent most of the time, there were a few times a conversation was commenced between the two but they ended shortly after they began and Alicia ended up getting lost in thoughts of her daughter.

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Wash was headed in the direction of the Training Centre – she was in-charge of training the soldiers and making sure they were combat ready. Her walk was intercepted though by Jim Shannon, great.

"Shannon." She nodded at him.

"Hey, Wash, you busy?" He questioned the woman who continued to walk forward, not stopping to talk. Jim jogged ahead to catch up with her.

"I take it you are. Anyway, I got question." Shannon told her.

Wash sighed, knowing he wouldn't leave, she turned to face him, "What?"

"Someone's in a mood." He muttered earning him a glare telling him he didn't say it low enough. "As I was saying, I got a question." Jim waited for a response, but all he received was a blank look.

"Aren't you going to ask what it is?" He sounded like a child asking his parents if they want to know what he got them for Christmas.

"I don't have time for games. I have training." Wash told him, annoyed with his childish antics.

He huffed, "Fine. As I said before you ruined it, I was talking to my wife."

"Is that suppose to be surprising?"

Jim rolled his eyes, "No. Let me talk; she told me the patient you found wasn't some random OTG girl, it was your daughter!" He exclaimed, amazed at the discovery and he was expecting a reaction but she remained expressionless.

"Okay..."

"How come you never mentioned having a daughter? And what was she doing OTG? How'd she get hurt?" His questions spilled out go his mouth a mile a minute.

"She's in a coma, Shannon, she can't exactly speak at the moment." Alicia said, dryly.

"As for why she was out there...when the Sixers split from the colony, she got lost. We couldn't find her, we assumed she'd been killed." _Or at least that was what the cover story was, well, one of them._

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Later that day, Wash went to the infirmary to visit her daughter.

She headed to the back, weaving her way through the stream of patients, nurses and doctors and entered the room containing her daughter. She looked about the same, her skin was a little bit less pasty, but there was also some discoloration on her body that wasn't there before.

Wash pulled up a chair and took a seat beside her daughter, gently grabbing ahold of her unbroken hand after a few seconds. Her long held back emotions flooded her: the pain of losing her daughter, the sadness that she may lose her any day, the regret for her actions that drove Natalie away. The good along with the bad memories were brought to the surface; the hateful words Natalie spoke, the day she arrived in Terra Nova, the day she got deathly sick, the day Natalie first called her "mom". Every goodbye Alicia remembered – when she left for Terra Nova, her first deployment after having her and now this could be her last goodbye.

No tears came as Wash sat there silently, unsure what to say. It went on for several minutes, before she finally opened her mouth,only to close it a moment later.

"Natalie, I'm-" Wash sighed, stopping herself; she still didn't know what to say.

"Please wake up."

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Natalie's light brown slowly opened. She never got to fully open her eyes due to the blinding light below and her eyes felt tired. Also, not a few seconds later, she noticed the ventaltors and now that she could beretta he on her own, she she struggled with getting air into her lungs with the device. She started panicking and tried to move. Lucky for her, her vitals spiked and having them been monitored outside the room, a nurse came running in.

Nurse Ogawa saw the patient struggling and the spiked vitals made sense.

"Relax." She told Natalie.

Natalie listened somewhat. She was struggling with concentrating, the oxygen to her head was getting cut off, allowing her to only focus on one thing. She obviously chose to live.

Once the ventilator was removed, Ogawa watched her carefully, concerned that her lungs couldn't function and that air was crucial. But Natalie's did, she took shallow breathes and her body (and lungs) began to relax on the bed.

"How are you feeling? How's your breathing?" Ogawa questioned her.

"Okay?" It came out as a question. "I can breathe fine, I think."

"I'm sure the doctor will want to verify that. She'll run some tests to make sure you are alright."

"Doctor?" Natalie was completely confused. "Where am I?" She scanned the room to the best of her ability. It was rather bland, white walls with just a bed, there was some medical supplies in one of the corners behind her, but she couldn't see it from her position.

"You're in the infirmary."

It only took her moment for those few words to settle in and it's true meaning to take effect, "I'm in Terra Nova?" She already knew the answer, but she needed verification.

"Yes." She'd been briefed that the girl had been OTG, so she wasn't entirely shocked as to why she was confused about where she was; especially since she was non-responsive when she was brought in.

The simple, short answer had Natalie sitting up and trying to leave the room. The problem was, while she could move herself about twenty-degrees up, her hands couldn't pull herself the rest of the way up. Her hands wouldn't do anything, it was like her brain refused to take orders from it anymore – same with her spine.

Looking for an explanation for this madness, she turned to the nurse who had her mouth opened; the nurse had been about to tell Natalie to lay back down, "Why can't I move? What happened to me?!" She freaked out, getting on the verge of a panic attack.

"Miss. Washington, please calm down." Ogawa had dealt with patients like her before and she knew what she was supposed to say. But it always aggravated them worse. She still went wing their method since, when someone was like this, only they can chose to calm themselves down. That or on occasion a therapist which they didn't have.

While still slightly panicked, Natalie didn't hesitate to correct her, "Natalie."

"Natalie." The nurse was about to speak again when Natalie's voice cut through, speaking first.

"What's wrong with me?" Natalie's voice was soft and delicate, much like a whisper.


	4. What About Now?

Author's Note: Thanks for the reviews, glad you are enjoying it. Hope you like this chapter. Sorry if my medical knowledge is wrong and I don't own anything.

Also, I want to apologize for the long wait, I got sidetracked. I have other story ideas in my head and I'm debating what to do with them.

* * *

><p>Wash was in the middle of a debriefing with Guzman and Taylor when her comm. beeped. She reached for it and stepped out of the Command Centre to take it.<p>

"Washington." She answered and listened in as a nurse spoke through the unit.

"Lt. Washington, Dr. Shannon wanted me to alert you that Natalie has awoken and..." The rest was useless to Wash, all she cared about was that her daughter was finally awake.

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Natalie saw the doctor's face and she knew what it meant, it was serious. Even without the look it wasn't hard to figure out, she couldn't move her muscles and she had an odd sensation.

"What's wrong? Tell me." Natalie begged.

Her eyes pleaded for answers and Dr. Shannon looked down at her hand resting on her uninjured arm, then met her eyes with a slight sigh, "You've suffered severe nerve damage. The accident caused trauma to both your skull and your spinal cord."

"But you fixed it, right?" The check-up had just began – they hadn't fully gone into details of what treatment was done, but based on her bandaged head and hand, she'd assumed she'd had surgery or at least some form of medical treatment.

"We performed the surgery to fix your cranial bone, but at the time we didn't know the extent of your nerve damage. We knew it was third-degree, borderline on fourth, but without you being awake, we couldn't identify if it effected your autonomic function, your sensory or your motor function."

"But you have?" Her question-statement was full of hope.

Elisabeth smiled back at Natalie, "Yes, that's what those tests were for, to rule out the type of damage. We did; your autonomic functions are functioning fine, which is great news because your autonomic nerves control your organs. Such as your blood pressure, your heart rate, your breathing and your digestion."

Elisabeth grew sober, "Your sensory functions and motor functions, however, were severely damaged. Your sensory nerves seem to be worse – the numbing sensation and the tingling feeling when something makes contact with your skin is due to the loss of those nerves. The peripheral nerves are used to send signals to and from the spinal cord and brain, such as the feeling of pain. It's the same with your motor functions, your brain sends signals telling your muscles to move, but those nerves were damaged by the fragments of your bone. The nerves were damaged so much, that you lost most of your motor controls."

Seeing her face react to the news, Dr. Shannon added, "But you are lucky, there wasn't severe damage to your spinal cord – you aren't paralyzed."

"What's that mean? I mean for me?" Tears began to well up in her eyes at the thought. She couldn't imagine a life without being with the dinosaurs or climbing trees. For her, the end of her ability to move, meant no OTG, which had become her home, not Terra Nova.

"We'll talk about treatment plans when your mother arrives." Elisabeth stated looking into the desperate young eyes. "I would like to discuss your accident."

"My accident?"

"Yes. Do you remember how you were injured?"

Natalie knitted her eyebrows together as she attempted to recall the event, but she just got nothing. "No."

It wasn't uncommon and with a severe brain injury, she wasn't surprised. "Can you recall how you got to Terra Nova? Or anything prior to that?"

Natalie was going to shake her head when she found herself unable to do so, "No...but I remeber being with Lucas."

"That's your last memory?" Elisabeth probed, gently. She knew it would be difficult to figure out the extent of her amnesia unless they spoke with this Lucas. Since it was another person and she'd been OTG, Elisabeth assumed she had lost all memory of her being OTG.

"Yea, we were at our cave, he was going to the falls." Natalie was so caught up in recalling the events she forgot to lie. "He told me to stay behind, he didn't normally do that." She paused, concentrating so hard her head ached. "I left, after he did. I wanted to prove something, but I don't remember. I-I don't remember anything else."

"It's alright. You did good." Elisabeth reassured her. "Your mom should be here soon, one of my nurses called her – I'll let her in when she arrives, I'm sure she'll be happy to see you awake." Elisabeth now had a puzzle to solve, who was Lucas? What was he doing with her OTG?

Natalie snorted in response, she doubted her mom would be there, she had the colony to worry about. She may be second-in-command, but she worked just as hard as Taylor – and for both of them, the colony always came first.

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Wash had been briefed by a nurse on Natalie's condition when she arrived. The nurse then directed her to the room, not that Wash needed any instructions as she had entered that room several days throughout her coma.

"Mom?" Shock was on Natalie's face when she saw her mother enter the room, a stoical look marring her face.

Wash stood in the doorway as she spoke, "Natalie, you're awake." The relief was evident in her voice, but Natalie didn't notice it.

"Yea, why are you here?" Natalie didn't expect her mother want to see her, she knew she was so disappointed in her.

Wash knew immediately the hidden question, why do you care? "Just because I don't approve of your choices doesn't mean I will stop being your mother. You will always be my daughter, and I will always care about you, no matter what you do."

"But I betrayed the colony...the colony always comes first." She was so confused, yet so certain about her statements.

Wash shook her head, her daughter still thought that, "You've always come first. I came here so you could have a future, so you could live and be healthy, and not-"

"But I didn't come! I waited–for years. I was all alone. You abandoned me."

"That never happened." Alicia's tone was sharp, determined to correct her daughter. "You got sick. Hope Plaza wouldn't let you through unless you had a clean bill of health and you didn't. I had no control over that, but I never stopped sending for you."

"Maybe you did." Hope that she finally accepted the truth blossomed inside Wash, but it ended with a firm statement. "But I don't care. When I finally got here, I wanted us to be a family, the four of us. Lucas, Taylor, me and you, but you lied to me. Taylor lied to me. You told me he went missing." Her last words were barely above a whisper. "You guys lied to me."

"You were eight, you were too young to understand what had happened that day."

"But what about later? When I was older?"

"You left when you were barely eleven. You still wouldn't of understood." Wash remembered that day like it was yesterday. She was so caught up in the Sixers leaving, she didn't notice her daughter had disappeared till she got home and found the place empty.

"What about now? Explain it to me." Wash didn't immediately answer and Natalie grew impatient. "Please."

"You're thirteen." It was a simple statement, but it nearly made Natalie snap. "Even if I were to explain, you wouldn't understand what happened. You chose to believe what you want, and what you want if for Lucas to be the boy you once knew. But Nat, he's not that person anymore. Somalia changed him, he hates Taylor for what happened and you can't change that. You need to stop searching for the good in him and accept that facts."

"So give up on him? Leave him out there to die? Act like he's the villain from a movie? He's not. He is good. You have to believe in him."

Wash loved the innocence her daughter had and the belief there's good in everyone. But sometimes, it made it impossible for her to see the truth, "Natalie, I believe in the facts. I'm not saying he's a villain, I'm saying-" She cut herself off with a sigh.

"What? What are you saying?"

"He may have good in him, but Nat, that doesn't mean he won't do bad things. He has plans, plans we can't allow to happen."

Natalie knew what plans she was referring to, or at least she thought she did, "You mean making the portal go both ways? How's that bad?"

"He'll destroy this world. All the animals you love, they'll be killed." Wash knew the last part would destroy Natalie – she knew how much she loved the wildlife – but she had to get her to understand.

Her eyes welled up with tears and one streaked down her face, "No. No. No. He-He wouldn't." Tears began to stream down her face uncontrollably. Wash reached out and placed a confronting hand on her daughter's wrist. "No-he, why? Why would he?" Her voice was slightly disoriented by her soft sobs.

Alicia brushed a strand of her daughter's black hair out of her face, "I'm sorry." Was all she could offer. It was better than saying he was doing it for revenge or money.

Wash continued to comfort her daughter as the news settled in and her world shifted.

It was one step, they had many to go, but a step forward was better than one back.


	5. Doctors and Stress

A/N: Sorry for the long wait. First my iPad broke and it had to be fixed which took a few days and me couldn't type on my phone. Then there was school. I'm now switching to online school which should allow me to update more often, but beac due of it I had to fill out forms and complete a lot of school work. Anyway, this is a short chapter and I apologize but I just wanted to get something out there. All the medical stuff should be done, so that'll help. This will tie into the regular series (using the actual episodes) next chapter. No copyright intended, I don't own Terra Nova or it's characters, I just own Natalie.

* * *

><p>Visiting hours at the Infirmary had ended about thirty-minutes ago. Wash exited the building after finishing her discussion with Elisabeth and crossed the dark colony. She needed to update Taylor and preferred to do it in person than over the comm.'s. When she reached the bottom of the steps, she noticed a single light on in the Command Centre, knowing he was there, she climbed the steps to Command. Wash pushed open the doors, and approached the desk he sat at.<p>

Upon her arrival, Taylor sat up in his seat, "Wash." He greeted, with a slight nod.

"Sir." She replied in kind.

"How is she?"

"Awake." Was the only answer, she could come up with.

"She doesn't remember what happened. The last thing she remembers is Lucas leaving her to go to the falls." Wash recounted what she was told by Dr. Shannon. When she had asked Natalie what she last remembered it was leaving her cave to prove something – Wash knew despite what she had learned, she was still protecting Lucas and she most likely always would.

"But she was with him?" It wasn't really a question, more-so a statement and he was looking for confirmation.

Wash nodded, confirming his assumption, "Yes, sir."

"And how are you?" Nathaniel looked generally concerned, he knew this was all taking a wear on her.

"Fine, sir." Alicia replied, rigidly and tiredly.

He gave her a look of disbelief, but didn't press the question.

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"Doctor? Can we talk about treatment? I am bored. I haven't been inside for this long in two years!" She needed to get back OTG. She needed to talk to Lucas and figure out what the truth was. And she needed to find her dinosaurs.

"We can, but you were saying you felt itchy." Elisabeth remarked, watching Natalie as she bushed her wrist against her leg.

"Uh-huh. My right wrist where the cast is and my left hand where the bandage is. It just itches." Natalie explained to the best of her ability. She had never been good at describing how she felt when she was sick or injured.

"That's good."

"It is?" Elisabeth nodded, answering her question. "Then why does it itch?" Natalie asked, placing her hand back beside her since she couldn't get the itch out.

"Because your wounds are healing, and so are your nerves." Elisabeth explained, glad that the healing process was going smoothly. Her itching the wounds wasn't good, as it could effect the healing process.

"What does that mean?

"As soon as your neutrophils return to normal and your neutropenia cycle ends, we'll start surgery. Till then, don't itch your skin."

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"So, how's your daughter doing?" Jim asked, glancing at his friend who looked stressed.

"She's fine." Wash replied.

The tenseness in her voice didn't go missed by him, "You know my wife is her doctor, right?"

"And you know there's a such thing as doctor-patient confidentiality?" She retorted.

"Okay, I'll admit Elisabeth didn't tell me, but I'm a cop, I can tell you're stressed." Shannon was profiling her as they walked.

"If you found your daughter outside the gates, bleeding out, after being OTG for two and a half years and just woke up from a 8 day coma, how would you be?" Wash questioned.

"Worried, stressed, concerned. I'd be with her everyday." Jim stated, seriously. It didn't matter which daughter, or which child, Josh, Maddy or Zoe, he would be there for them. "But I'd know she was safe in Elisabeth's capable hands." His last words were directed towards Wash.

Wash nodded, she didn't disagree that Elisabeth was a capable doctor. "I know. That's not why I'm stressed."

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"So you're starting your treatment tomorrow." Wash stated, trying to start a conversation, something which wasn't easy these days. An argument came naturally to them, fighting seemed to be all they did before she left, it was nearly impossible to have a civilized conversation.

"If my neutrophils go back up."

"We just want to be sure you don't get another infection." The last thing Alicia wanted was for Natalie to get an infection While her immune system was down and have to spend more time then needed in the Infirmary.

"You don't want me to be a burden." Natalie assumed. It was a quick assessment and she seemed to care less about the response.

"That's not it." Wash was quick to correct her.

"Isn't it?" Why can't Lucas be here? She wondered.

"Why are you here, Mom? Really? I know you're disappointed in me, so why aren't you avoiding me like Taylor is?"

"I'm not disappointed in you, I'm disappointed in your actions." Wash told her once again. "And Taylor isn't avoiding you." Wash knew that for a fact. She knew what Taylor was like when he was avoiding someone and this was not; he just needed time to think about everything.

Natalie rose her eyebrows, but didn't comment.

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As Wash entered the infirmary and she spotted Dr. Shannon speaking with a nurse about a patient. When Elisabeth finished their conversation and the nurse left, Wash walked over to her.

"How is she?" She asked.

"Surgery was fine, no complications, we were able to repair the nerve damage. She's under anesthesia and sedation now, she should be awake soon." Elisabeth explained as she turned to the other woman.

"Good." Wash nodded.

"You can go see her if you'd like. She's back in her room."

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Elisabeth was in the middle of her goodbye when she heard her name be called out. After pulling Jim in for a quick kiss, her expression turned serious.

"I got to go, you got the kids tonight?"

"Yes, it'll be fine." Jim assured her. Elisabeth didn't have time to mention last time he said that he forgot to put Zoe in the bath since she needed to attend to the patient.

"Remember: Zoe needs a bath!" Elisabeth called from over her shoulder, as she approached the nurse.

"What's wrong?" She asked when she reached the women, wondering which patient needed her attention.

"Miss. Washington is waking up." The other woman explained.


	6. A Wave of Memory

Author's notes: I considered changing Natalie's age to make her relationship with Lucas more believable and understandable, but I decided not to since I planned her to be thirteen and certain things only work because of that. So, instead her relationship with him will be a little different. With that, you'll finally get to see more into her betrayal and if it really was a betrayal.

Sorry for the wait, I wanted to wait and try and get chapters stored up so I could do more evenly updates. The second part to this will be up soon. If it wasn't a two-parter, I would wait till Thursdays so I could do even updates, but I'll try and have it up by Monday.

This is based off of scenes from 'Nightfall'. I don't own 'Terra Nova', Lt. Washington, Commander Taylor, Dr. Shannon or any characters from the show. The only characters do own is my OC Natalie (and Mike :) )

I hope you enjoy, it's a long one! Thanks for reading, Fighteratheart.

* * *

><p>Natalie wasn't an overly patient person. She couldn't wait for her body to heal itself. When she needed to do something, she got up and did it, regardless of what she was told. Eighty-precent of the time it didn't work in favor, Twenty-precent it did. The times it didn't, it didn't end well for her and when it did...well, she was still working on that.<p>

Natalie pressed back on her left hand as she twisted her body in an attempt to swing her legs around the side of the bed. Her toes landed inches from the ground, she brought her arms around so they were on either side of her body. Her right hand laid flat beside her and she balled her left hand into a fist, feeling her muscles tighten as she pushed the fist into the bed. Her toes flexed as they skimmed over the cold, solid ground she'd been aching to touch again. She stretched out her muscles, ignoring the slight burn the movement caused her. The painkillers helped with most of the pain, but there was still that little bit that lingered that no amount of pain medicine could take away.

Once her feet hit the flat ground, Natalie gripped onto the bed to steady herself. The dizziness hit hard, despite taking (some of) the Doctor's advice about going slow when sitting up. She knew she wasn't suppose to be walking yet, but she couldn't be a loafer forever. Her first attempt to walk, shortly after she woke from surgery, she collapsed to the ground. When the doctor found out about her walking attempt she wasn't happy, despite passing (not excelling) the tests. She had to undergo several tests to test her reflexes, nerve response time, her arm and leg strength and several other things she didn't care to listen to.

As she let go of the bed, she brought one hand forward, taking a step forward while keeping her left hand stretched out behind her, her fingertips gripping the edge. She was going better than the first time, she felt stronger than when she first stood up. The more steps she took, the more weak she felt and the less stable. She was nearing the wall across from the bed her arm was stretched out to reach it and her eyes were squinted. She had finally let go of any support and the steps without any type of support to keep her balance caused her to be wobbly. She brought her foot forward, then her knees went weak. She didn't fall, but she sunk down onto her knees. The pain from her lacerations intensified, and she stayed there. Her head was buried in her head buried in between legs, an arm under her thighs and her injured arm hanged limp beside her.

Moments later, Elisabeth entered the room, frowning when she didn't see Natalie on the bed, panic set in, "Natalie?" Elisabeth called out. She flipped on the lights to search for her, they were off due to her photophobia. Walking to the other side, she spotted Natalie crouched on the ground, hidden from the door'a view.

Elisabeth quickly passed the bed, she put the cup down and crouched down beside her, "Natalie, can you tell me what happened? Did you fall? Are you injured?"

Natalie looked up, and upon seeing the light hissed in pain, "I'm fine." She rested her head in her lap as she turned it to the right to avoid the light.

"What happened?" Elisabeth repeated.

Despite the pain and shame she felt, she couldn't help but look up, eye squinted, to give the doctor a sly smile, "I may've tried walking by myself, and it didn't go as planned."

"After what I told you last time?" Elisabeth let out an exasperated sigh, "Natalie, do you know how serious this is? Your body has gone through severe trauma, you had traumatic brain injury, your body needs time to heal, it's weak right now."

"I do know that, and I know the best way to get stronger is to get back up. Staying on the ground will get you nowhere."

"Natalie your body has been through severe trauma, it's understandable you need to recover. Now, let's get you up, I have a protein shake waiting for you." The look she gave her said there was no room for negotiation, on either matters.

—

Alicia was in the doorway to Natalie's room, her arms were crossed across her chest while she waited for Natalie to say something. She was ignoring her once again. Since her arrival several minutes ago, Natalie hadn't uttered a single word, she barely made eye contact with her. The only time she did was when Wash first arrived and it was to see who had entered, then she went back to the screen in her hand. It wasn't the first time this had happened – every visit since she awoke from her second surgery was filled with nothing but silence. Wash had tried to make conversation, but Natalie didn't dare to look her in the eye. Alicia started to visit her less, the visits were becoming pointless, all they did was cause unwanted stress, besides she had work she needed to attended to.

_**Flashback**_

_Natalie peaked her head into the other room. There was a bag on the bed and her mom was putting stuff into it. Her mind started to connect the two and after realizing what it meant, she raced over to Alicia. She tugged on the the woman's sleeve, stopping her motions, "You're leaving?" _

_Alicia sighed, she'd hoped she would've gotten the chance to sit down and have a conversation with Natalie about this, but guess it didn't work out that way. _

_Alicia turned around and crouched down to get to eye level height of her daughter, "I am, but I'll see you soon."_

_"No, don't leave. Stay, I'll miss you."_

_"I can't, Tallie." _

_"Why?" Wash could see the sadness in Natalie's eyes and the confusion in her voice._

_Alicia brushed her daughter's hair away – she couldn't lie to her daughter, but she couldn't exactly explain taking an eighty-five million trip to the past to save the human race to a six-year-old in first grade. "You'll meet me in Terra Nova."_

_Natalie was perplexed at the statement, she shook her head, "No." She said, forcefully. "When you going to come home?" Tears had welled up in her eyes._

_Alicia hugged her emotional daughter, "We'll be together soon."_

_"When?" Natalie muffled into Wash's shirt, her small arms clinging to her mom._

_"A few months." _

_Natalie pulled back, "Months?" She didn't remember ever spending a long time away from her. It only happened during the first couple years of her life. _

_"It'll be over before you know it." Alicia assured. "Then we'll have a new home." It was bugging her too – being away so long – but she couldn't tell Natalie that, besides she knew when she agreed to Taylor's offer what she was in for. _

_"New home?"_

_"Yea, I'll see you soon. I love you."_

_"Love you, Mommy." _

**_End of flashback _**

—

Taylor had finished his meeting with Malcolm and was headed to Command. He was halfway up the stairs when Wash joined him, walking by his side the last few. They entered the building together, Wash closing the door behind them while Taylor went over to his desk.

"Did Malcolm find anything?" Wash asked, causing Taylor to look up and over at her.

"It's sealed shut by some sort of DNA response system. It can only be opened by one person." Taylor explained.

"Mira? That doesn't sound like something she would do." Wash walked over toward where he stood and rested a palm on his the desk.

"No, sounds like Lucas." Taylor deflated in his chair as the realization dawned him, "He's working with Mira." They both knew it was the truth, and had for some time, but Taylor had denied it, hoping there was a chance he could get get _his_ son back.

"We always knew it was a possibility." Wash remarked. "If it is Lucas'..."

"It could be for his calculations. We can't let him or Mira get ahold of it; Malcolm has it locked up in the lab. Wash?"

"Sir?"

"Keep Natalie as far away as possible, she's our closet link to Lucas. She may not be the spy but she's helped Lucas in the past."

—

Natalie loved to draw, it was one of her favorite ways to pass time. Even when she was OTG she managed to find a way to do so, she drew on rocks much like Lucas, except they were of the wildlife and the forest. Now, she struggled having only one hand she was allowed to use, and even then it was her left. She was right-handed, never really used her left, so her drawing were far from good. She was constantly having to shake the screen to erase her sloppy drawing.

She was in the middle of drawing a picture of Mike in her bag when the screen started going haywire. She frowned and looked down at the screen which went black, then pounded it on her lap. She didn't know what else to do, she hadn't used appliances in a few years. She left in a haste, she didn't bring any appliances with her, only survival needs.

The lights were off in her room, but the chem-lights started to come on. Natalie's head snapped in their direction, why were they turned on? Suddenly, a large gust of wind broke through the back door near her. And cries and screams blended together, what was going on? Something must've happened, what she didn't know, but she got up to investigate.

Her balance had improved but she was unstable at first and she needed to use the wall to help support herself. The lights were out in the hall, they were actually out throughout the whole infirmary. Why was the power off?

It took her awhile to get into the main part of the infirmary and when she did, she saw colonists flooding in. There were people of all ages who had sustained different types of injuries ranging from cuts to broken bones. She spotted Dr. Shannon in the middle of the chaos the infirmary had become.

—

They were screaming at colonists to get down and take cover – the sonic wave was coming in hot. They had nothing to prevent the oncoming catastrophe, not that having power would've helped any.

"Down! Wash, get in there." Taylor ordered his lieutenant, turning to her briefly. Wash didn't hesitate to follow his order, she never did.

Taylor watched as the sonic wave came in, the wind broke through trees, flipped over tables and tore the doors and windows to Command wind open. Taylor hit the ground hard, he landed beside Wash. Glass shattered over them and they stayed on the ground till it passed.

They lifted their heads up in sync and turned to each other.

"You all right, Wash?"

"Fine, sir. Just, I haven't had to do that in a while." She smiled as she let out a small chuckle.

Years ago, before Somalia, she spent a majority of her time diving for her life being a medic. It's been over ten years since she was on the battlefield dodging gunfire.

They stayed on the ground, so abundantly close, for a minute before Taylor pulled himself up and offered a hand out to Wash. She took it and pulled herself up.

Wash began brushing the bits of glass off of herself alongside Taylor, "We should find Malcolm." She suggested.

Taylor nodded his head in agreement, "First, get everyone in the square."

—

A/N: 2017 words! Now, that's what I am talking about.

I wasn't planning on adding a Wash and Natalie scene in this chapter, but I wanted to clear up some stuff on their relationship. I don't hate Wash and I really do want them to have a happy mother-daughter relationship, but based on their history I wrote it's kind of hard right now. So I wanted to show you what they were like before Terra Nova. I wanted to show you that Natalie didn't always have this attitude and disrespect for Wash, I may do more, when she's older and first arrived in Terra Nova.

Next chapter: Natalie tries to help with the damage and she has a chat with Elisabeth about her past. Also, Wash brings out her medic skills.

And later, Natalie has a long overdo conversation with Taylor and celebrates her fourteenth birthday (fun!).


	7. Rise up through the Flames

Another long chapter, enjoy! The page break screws with me so I can't keep it constant.

**|~| Natalie Washington |~| Brother or Mother? |~| Natalie Washington |~|**

The infirmary was already occupied with people and more kept coming. Natalie was across from the doctor, her arms crossed over her chest in defiance as Elisabeth treated a patient; they were- no, Natalie, was arguing with Elisabeth.

"Natalie you should get off your legs, you need to go back to bed and rest."

"You want me to go to sleep?" Natalie stared at her, a look of shock marring her face. "If you think, I'm just going to stand here and do nothing, you clearly don't know me. I cannot sit by and watch while people bleed when I know I can do something."

Natalie was persistent, this wasn't the first time Elisabeth had told her to go back to bed. Elisabeth wanted her to rest, but Natalie just wouldn't have it.

Elisabeth gave her orders about the patient and the course of treatment, then twisted around to finish her conversation with Natalie, "You can help by resting."

It took a moment for Natalie to figure out what she meant, "You don't think I can help." Her assumption had her eyes darkening.

"Natalie, I can help you back to your room or I can sedate you, but you should not be up."

"I should not be up? You know, I spent well over five hundred days out there." Natalie thrust her finger outside. "I never really counted, but it wasn't all paradise. Each day I had to do certain things to survive. Things that are unforgivable, but I had to for my survival and for Lucas'. If it wasn't for him, I wouldn't be here. We taught each other how to survive, I had been taught by my mom, but it's different. Actually being out there, with the dinosaurs, it's scary. I didn't have power or electronics. I had to make fire, every night, and when Lucas got injured, I had to help him. I was lucky to know the basics of first-aid, it helped him and Mike. I know how to help. Please, just let me."

* * *

><p>While Taylor was prepping for an upcoming battle with the local wildlife, Wash had been sent to the infirmary to see what help she could provide. She received a lot of training with manual skills, and was less dependent on equipment compared to the nurses and doctors on staff.<p>

After bringing in a soldier she found in a crashed rover and handing him over to two nurses, Wash sought out Dr. Shannon.

"I hope you can persist, we aren't as knowledgeable as you are when it comes to manual." Elisabeth said, helping a patient across from Wash.

Alicia counted to one before setting the bone back in place; the women let out a short shout of pain. She nodded at the patient telling her she was done, then looked up at Elisabeth.

"Until I'm needed back at the fence, I'm able." Alicia replied.

"There's plenty for you to do until then."

They walked to another patient. "How's Natalie?" She was probably safe from the sonic wave, but she wanted to be certain.

"She's fine. She insisted on helping out; she's very willful."

"And headstrong." Alicia couldn't help but add. "She loves this colony and its people, but she can be so naive."

A silence fell in between the two as they began work on the patient. They quickly discovered a method that helped each other work on patients effectively. It ended once Wash was called back to the fence by a fellow soldier reporting Taylor needed her to go back there, night was falling.

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><p>After being forced into bed, Natalie had done nothing, not a thing. She didn't know what to do, all the activities she typically did require some form of physical activity. Eventually, she got bored, and started fidgeting. She untangled her hair and made four attempts to braid her hair before she gave up.<p>

She sat up in the bed, straighter than ever when she heard the roar of a dinosaur. She was used to the dinosaur noises, she heard them all the time, she lived in the forest surrounded by dinosaurs, with a snoring one curled up by her ear. This was different, this was a growl of anger (don't ask her how she knows this). Natalie got out of the bed, and ran out the door.

She knew what was coming, the way an animal growled could tell you how they felt, but only if you listened closely and knew them. Natalie ran through the infirmary, weaving her way through patients in a dash for the front door. She was out the door before anyone could stop her and she saw the dinosaurs approaching the colony.

Not a moment later a line of fire was shot and she heard the growls of protest from the animal. "No!" Natalie screamed. She ran to the fence where her mother, the commander and Shannon stood with over a dozen soldiers.

Wash turned around at the sound of the scream, she knew that scream. The approaching figure confirmed it, "Natalie?"

"Stop, you're hurting him." Even she knew it sounded childish.

Alicia knew her daughter had strong beliefs, they started developing in the last year of their time together, but she didn't know how much was tied to her and how much was just her opinion, "We'll discuss this later, Natalie, you need to get back to the infirmary, now."

Her tone was non-negotiable, but this was different. When Natalie usually did continue, it had been to push her, but this was not usual, "But-"

"Now."

The hurt shown in her eyes and Natalie glanced over one last time at the dinosaur. Taylor was approaching it, he had spared a glance at her, but that was it.

"What the hell is that?" Taylor asked, before he got a clear visual of the object he spotted. "There's something on its back. Someone's been hurting this thing. It's a diversion. It's a diversion. We're being duped. They're probably already inside."

"Sixers." Shannon said.

"Mira...she's after the box."

A plan had formulated in her head to escape with the Sixers, but without helping this animal and knowing about her accident, she couldn't.

"Wash, stay on the fence, Shannon, with me."

Well, that ruined her plan. Now she had to figure out how to sneak how to the animal without getting caught by her mother, getting killed or getting dizzy. Should be easy.

"I'll, um, just go to the infirmary...now." Natalie needed to get better at lying, she hadn't had to do it in a while, she hadn't had practice.

Natalie walked in the direction of the infirmary, but after several yards, she slipped into the darkness and went to the edge of the fence. After crawling underneath, she went to the gigantic creature. Never before had she tried to calm down an animal of this size, she'd approach several, and even came in contact with a Carno, but she tended to stick with the smaller dinosaurs. She could hide from them if need be easier.

The animal was still stomping around, roaring in complaint when she reached it. The sticks were still embedded in its body. There wasn't a way – at least not one she could think of – to calm the animal down first, then remove the arrows. She'd done similar things, she'd found a couple baby dinosaurs trapped in vines and some were far too injured to find their way back to their family. The difference was, they weren't nearly as vicious.

The fire was hot upon approach. She swore she heard her mother call her name. But she focused on dodging the large clawed foot the animal had. She did not want to become a sawed pancake. Natalie made a jump for the leg and she gripped onto it as it swayed in the wind. It was clear he didn't want her on board, but she didn't have a way to explain she meant no harm. Unless she went to his face, but that would involve more climbing. Her wrist was already killing her. She pulled herself up, using her legs to scoot up the legs until she reached the stick. She pulled it out, eliciting a sharp yelp, accompanied by a growl and he started to move his legs in an erratic manner.

Frantically, Natalie began rubbing the area before scooting down. He wasn't calming down fast enough, he shook his leg in an attempt to get her off. She gave the ground a hard look before risking the jump and tumbling to the ground. The animal moved his foot and Natalie rolled away just in time. She found herself stuck in between the fire and dinosaur, she had very little lean-way.

She army crawled her way away to safety. She started to make her way back to the fence; she ran halfway, stumbling and getting out of breath. She was afraid she wouldn't make it, luckily, her mom was there at the gates to help her, but based on the look Alicia wore, Natalie knew she was in trouble.

So much for the good news.

~|•|~ Page Break ~|•|~

Wash had sent Natalie back to the infirmary, hopefully she'll actually stay there. Elisabeth would treat her, heal the wounds she just added to her list and look at her wrist who's healing was most likely stalled and possibly reversed. Her concern with Natalie wasn't helping her concern about Taylor.

Shannon and he had left to deal with the Sixers a while ago and they still weren't back. With every second that ticked by, her worry increased and she grew more anxious. The Comm.'s were down so she couldn't radio him. While she could be overreacting, with his tendency up get injured, she couldn't help but be anxious. He always expected her to be there to patch him up, but she knew, one of these days, she wouldn't be able. He put too much trust in her medical skills.

When Shannon got in at the gate, alone, she knew something had happened. She began to fear the worst. She didn't expect him to come see her right away if he was injured, but she hoped he wasn't injured, for once.

"Where is he?" She made it clear it was far from a request.

Shannon appeared to struggle with how to respond. He shifted from one foot to the other, glanced at his shoes, then the fire, it was clear he was stalling.

"Shannon." Wash barked. She did not have the patience for this.

He seemed scared to answer the first time, even more now, "Um, you see, he sort of got shot."

"How do you 'sort of' get shot?" Her emotions were as light as day.

"The sixer used a crossbow." Jim explained. "He refused to go to the infirmary, I thought you could...I don't know."

She wasn't suppose to leave her post, "Did he send himself or are you suggesting this?" It was a rather stupid question, she knew the answer, Taylor wouldn't request medical assistance.

Alicia signed, "Where is he?"

"He left, I don't know. He was bleeding, but he seemed fine and said he was." Wash stared at him for a moment and gave him one of her signature looks.

~|•|~ Page Break ~|•|~

Natalie was back in the infirmary, in her room, on the bed facing a not-happy Elisabeth. It was not a good situation for her, luckily she got out of her mother's scolding, but she had a feeling Elisabeth would take care of that. She was naturally motherly.

"Natalie, do you know the severity of your actions?"

She did, she truly did; she knew she would be in serious trouble with her mother once the colony wasn't under attack and she knew she effected her recovery. But an animal's life was at stake, they were one of the most important things in the world to her.

So, she simply replied, "I helped a dinosaur."

"You could've gotten yourself killed." Elisabeth was chastising her like her own, her tone sharp and severe.

She changed her tone back to professional, "You delayed your recovery and we won't know the full extent of the damage till the power is up and running. You just woke up from a coma, you need to take it easy."

"But I don't want to, I'm fine. I just walked fine – I ran – doesn't that mean anything?" Natalie hoped it.

"Yes, but any progress you've made, you may have just lost."

Natalie gaped at her, "What?!" More time in the infirmary, great.

"Get some rest, I'll wake you when we have the ability to run the scans."

"All right, but, I remember." Elisabeth looked confused. "I remember what happened, how I ended up here, I remember the accident."

~|•|~ Page Break ~|•|~

It would've been a great deal easier to find Taylor if the Comm.'s were up and running, not that he would ask for her or tell her where he was. He was a stubborn man and he hated hospitals. Luckily for her, she did have a good idea where he would be.

The house was dark upon her approach, just like expected. The power to the housing units was still out, the doors while automatic were still accessible. The circuits had been fused and with a little jiggle of the door they opened. Taylor's door had already been opened, so it was easy to open.

She shouldn't of been surprised to find him bleeding out; he was seated at the table, his armor had just come off, his shirt stained with blood and his face masking signs of pain. He looked up when he saw her enter and she couldn't help but, rest her hands on her hips. Insubordinate, yes, but she was annoyed and today had been a long day.

"An arrow?"

"Hey, Wash."

"Really, Taylor? You couldn't at least send for me?"

"I figured Shnanon would get you," He explained his reasoning and Wash huffed.

"Shirt off." She didn't wait to see if he would question her on it, she turned and left him where he sat. She went to grab the medical kit and came back with it in hand. She opened it up and started pulling out her supplies in when she heard a hiss in pain. She glanced over at Taylor, he had started to remove his shirt, but it became clear he couldn't completely move his arm.

Alicia brought her hands over to help him. With help, she was able to remove the offending garment, allowing her to get to work on closing the gaping wound.

Nathaniel winced the moment her hands made contact with his skin, "Your hands are cold." He offered as an explanation. She rolled her eyes and started cleaning the wound, it was the same complaint every time.

"This would go a lot quicker if you stopped moving. Would you like me to sedate you?" She knew he wouldn't, but it was worth a shot.

She finished cleaning the wound, numbed the affected area and started to stitch the wound closed.

"You and Natalie are going to keep me busy." She commented.

Taylor quirked his eyebrow, "What happened with her?"

"She snuck outside the fence and tried to remove whatever was on its back. I couldn't get her off of it before she took a tumble to the ground."

"That crazy girl. She all right?"

"She could walk, I sent her back to the infirmary to get looked at. Hopefully she'll stay this time."

Alicia was nearing the end of the stitches when Nathaniel moved, she looked up from them to meet his eyes, "Stay still."

"Easier said than done."

"All done." When he made a move to stand, Wash placed her hand on his chest to stop him, "Sit. You're on bed rest."

"Wash!"

"Sir."

"I have things to do, the colony-"

"Will be fine. I'll do whatever needs to be done, but you need to rest. Either go to the infirmary or stay here, and don't pull your stitches. But you cannot run the colony."

|~|•|~| Natalie Washington |~|•|~|

2766, new record. Thanks for reading. Please review. I'll update soon.


	8. Forgiving and Forgetting

AN: Sorry for the long wait. Migraines. I hope you enjoy. I split this chapter in two since it was long and I wanted to end on a better note, so I'll upload another chapter soon.

No copyright intended, I don't do this for profit, I don't own Terra Nova, just Natalie.

—

She was back in her old clothes. What used to be a shirt a size too large, fit just right. It was odd being in different clothes, she'd been in the same clothes for the past couple of years. She only wore something different when she swapped between the few extra pairs she brought, then she outgrew them and she used them for cloths, or bandages. She learned to never throw anything out.

Natalie tugged on her sweatshirt and combed her fingers through her damp raven curls. Her cast was off, her mobility was still limited, but it was improving. She exited the bathroom to see Alicia and Elisabeth in conversation, waiting for her.

After weeks of recovery, days spent looking at the same four walls, she was finally allowed to leave the infirmary. The doctor told her she was going home, but she had no idea what home was any longer.

They looked up upon her arrival, "Hi. I'm ready whenever."

"Natalie, did you experience any difficulties?"

"No," Natalie answered, her eyes remaining connected to the doctor's.

"You ready to go home?" Alicia asked, speaking to her daughter for the first time.

She honestly did not know the answer to the question, "I guess."

It was a hot sunny day, far too warm to be outside with sweatpants and a sweatshirt, but she was comfy and that was all that mattered. They made quick work of getting across the colony. Their house was in the middle between the military sector and the civilian sector. It was located near the barracks and Command which allowed Alicia to do her duty, but it was far enough away that her daughter was around children her age and not just soldiers. Alicia had wanted her child to have a relatively normal life, it of course never happened. She chose her path.

Once they reached the house, Alicia punched in the code and pushed open the front door. The house was a standard two bedroom unit, it had the basics with two bedrooms on opposite sides of each other. The walls were barren, they weren't big on decorating, or at least Alicia wasn't. She kept it clean and tidy, didn't leave personal items out, kept those items safe and hidden away. If it weren't for Natalie's open nature, they would never see the light of day and the walls would forever remain bare. It was their differing natures and personalities that caused many arguments.

"Home sweet home," She spoke, her fingers scraping the panels on the wall. Reaching the front of her room, she stopped and turned to look over at her mother, "Is it still the same?"

Alicia nodded, "Yes." She didn't change a thing after Natalie left, she just used the house for resting, sleeping and eating.

Elisabeth wasn't a fool. She'd been Natalie's doctor for several weeks, and through that time she knew there were issues between the two. She didn't know the cause and she didn't know what it had to do with Natalie being OTG, but she did know several times during their visits, Natalie's blood pressure and heart rate increased dramatically. She'd talked to them about it, but neither divulged too much into the matter, both kept their issues close. She knew they could diffuse the situation on their own, but the tension in the room seemed to be increasing.

Elisabeth spoke up, "You should lay down, you've been on your feet much too long today."

Natalie conceded. It was like stepping into a brand new room, similar to the first time she entered her bedroom, but this was different. Then it was unknown, unfamiliar and new; now, it feels foreign and alien. It felt exotic and uncomfortable. It brought back so many memories, and not all good.

|~Brother or Mother?~|

Alicia was back home after finishing her dawn patrol. Natalie was still sound asleep, it was one of the many differences between them, she loved to sleep in, if she could she would sleep all day. Alicia on the other hand was an early riser – walk the perimeter, meet with Taylor, write her report, turn it on, ect.

Taylor and Natalie were still not speaking, she honestly wasn't surprised. After her betrayal came to light, he was rather disappointed in her. He heard her story for all intents and purposes, but it was just to make an executive decision on what to do with her. Banishment was ruled off the table, but once Natalie took the matter into her own hands, he might as well have.

Alicia opened up the door to Natalie's bedroom, and shook her shoulder gently. It was the only way to wake her up, talking did nothing, when she was out, she was out for the count.

It took minutes of shaking before the girl finally blinked her eyes and let out a moan, "Mom?"

"It's time to wake up."

"'M tired. Back to bed," She mumbled, curling up and snuggling under the covers.

Alicia rolled her eyes, stood up straighter and crossed her arms over her chest, "Doc said I can't let you sleep in."

"Then it'll be our secret."

"Natalie," It was a warning, don't push me.

She, of course, did, she was never a good listener, "I'm sleepy; and you've lied before, what's the difference?" But the moment the words came out of her mouth, she knew she had crossed a line.

Alicia's posture tensed, she pursed her lips, "Be out of bed in five minutes, breakfast will be ready then." She turned and left the room, leaving her daughter, sitting up agape at her.

No words were passed through breakfast, it was silent the only noise being the clinking of the utensils. And Natalie was never silent, at least not in the years Alicia has been around her. She always had an opinion, always had a voice, but the days since she'd been home, actually since being back from OTG, she was different, almost like she was a different person.

Natalie was almost done with her meal, which consisted of fruit, vegetables and a protein shake – she refused to eat meat, apparently she was now a vegetarian. If she didn't hunt, it was a wonder she survived out there. She couldn't possibly survive on just the vegetation out there – they didn't even know if some were even edible.

Putting her drink down, she looked at her mom, "I didn't mean to hurt you."

Natalie was adamant to not apologize, she hadn't since her betrayal unless you count the one time she used it in a sarcastic manner. But she had to mitigate what she had said.

But she couldn't help but feel guilty for what she said and she had to mitigate what she said.

|~Brother or Mother?~|

Alicia saluted at the soldiers standing post around the Command Centre as she mounted the steps. Shannon and Taylor were both inside upon her arrival, they appeared to be in conversation. Taylor caught her eye and she tipped her head in his direction.

"Morning, Wash," Taylor greeted.

Shannon turned around to face her, "Hey, Wash."

"Shannon, Sir." She stood at attention.

Jim paused as he realized something, "Wait...I'm in before you– I'm never in before you." He frowned in confusion as he tried to figure out why, "What happened?"

"Natalie was discharged from the infirmary yesterday," Taylor answered for her.

"So you were with her. Which means she's better, Liz wouldn't release her if she didn't believe so."

"Yes, but she doesn't handle boredom well and what she does with it can be dangerous."

|~Brother or Mother?|

Alicia didn't know what she was anticipating when she first arrived at her home after finishing the paperwork with Taylor, but she was certain it was not this. It was not even remotely close. She predicted a minor mess – she knew Natalie was unorganized, but this was a little much, even for her.

A doll laid beside her foot, two others not too far from the door – it was obvious they were tossed. Pieces of clothing were scattered across the hall, creating a trail from her open bedroom to the bathroom. In the kitchen, bowls and pans sat in the sink and a dish was positioned on the counter. A pair of flats sat on top of each other on the floor, beside the dining table. A music player sat on the table, the sound turned off. Across the room, the two couches were pressed together and Natalie laid across them. Pens surrounded her, a plexscreen on the couches with a pen in her hand.

She was too engaged in her work to notice Alicia had returned or to look up at her.

"Natalie!" Alicia called in an attempt to get her attention. It succeeded, but it startled the girl in the process.

The drawing utensil slid to the side, painting a line through the drawing, "Crap."

She dropped the pen and looked up at her mother, "What?" She said it like she had no idea why her mother was upset.

"You know what. I have cut you a lot of slack, but you know the rules. You make a mess, you clean it up, it's not my job to pick up after you. You're nearly fourteen."

"I wasn't expecting you to clean it up," Natalie muttered, but they both knew she heard.

Alicia sighed, she would have Natalie clean it up before bed, but she first needed to diffuse the situation, "The harvest festival is coming up; a few days."

"Dr. Shannon already told me."

"You can make some friends, and you can wear a dress. I know how much you like dressing up."

The dress part got Natalie's attention, "Are you going to wear one?" In all of her years, she had only once seen her mother in a dress. It wasn't by choice and she hadn't been born yet.

"No."

"Why not?"

"Maybe for your birthday." She intended it to be a joke.

"Yes!" Natalie didn't take it as one.


	9. Caring

Author's Notes: I don't own Terra Nova, the characters or Vs., only my OC: Natalie. A quicker update, not as quick as I hoped, but hopefully the length will make up for that. I'm thinking about rewriting the first couple of chapters, please tell me if I should. I probably will regardless, I want to clear the air on some matters, it seems to be getting more confusing instead of clearer since the first chapters weren't clear. Anyway, enjoy!

* * *

><p>"You may not be a Sixer spy, but don't pretend you don't know a little about everything that goes on in this place," Jim said, his finger in the air and his body blocking Boylan's way.<p>

"I strong-armed Taylor into deeding me my bar in trade for keeping his secret," He acknowledged, "I'm not about to risk that by playing at guessing. You should ask Natalie; I hear she's back in town. Now, if you'll excuse me, I'm going to go sleep for about a month."

Natalie? As in Wash's Natalie? What would she know about the body? And why would Boylan suspect she knew anything?

He caught Boylan before he turned in. Jim turned around and stared at the bartender quizzically, "What makes you think she has anything to do with this?"

"She's a curious one," Was all he said.

**|~Brother or Mother? ~|**

Taylor had left the infirmary after speaking with Elisabeth, Jim and Malcolm about the body found. It wasn't difficult to figure out Jim suspected him, and he pointed that out as he filled Wash in about Jim's finding.

"Shannon's suspicious; he's not going to stop till he gets the truth."

Wash considered what he said, there weren't many options to cover this up, and even if they could, they couldn't stop Jim from sniffing around. He wasn't good at keeping his nose out of other people's business.

"Maybe you should give it to him."

Taylor assessed her, trying to figure out if she was serious or joking, because she couldn't possibly be serious, "You're serious?"

But she was. She shrugged, "What's the worst that can happen?"

He shot her a look reminding her of what happened with Natalie.

"Sir, you said it yourself he won't stop till he gets the truth. Who is it best he gets the truth from?"

**|~Brother or Mother? ~|**

After making the large mess the other day, she was required to clean up and put away every item of clothing that still fit. That items she had tried on and didn't work, were stacked in a pile on her dresser. A lot of her favorite clothes were in that pile, much to her dismay.

Luckily, she was able to find a dress for the Harvest Festival that still fit. Expect the straps were too thin and they didn't cover the fading scar she hoped to conceal. She wasn't ashamed of it, but she couldn't face the humiliation of them knowing how she got it. They would just think she was stupid if they knew what happened, even more than they already thought.

Natalie was thinking of options of what to do when she heard the door open, her mom was home. Natalie went to the closet and grabbed one of her jackets off the hanger. Alicia called her name, letting her know she was home and Natalie hurried to get it on while calling out, "one moment."

She was waiting for her upon her exit, she still had her gun strapped to her thigh and she made no move to put it away.

"What's wrong?" It was clear from the fact she was still in her work clothes, something was.

"I'm going to meet you at the festival, I have to do something with Taylor first."

"Which is?" Alicia didn't answer. "You can't tell me, figures. It has to do with Lucas, doesn't it? Or Mira?"

Alicia really did not want to fight with her, "Natalie, do not start." It was a silent cry to prevent another argument.

Natalie ignored it, just like she did with every warning, "Do you even know why I left? Did you even care?" Her voice dropped an octave.

"Yes, I did."

"But I was a prisoner. That's what it was like, that's why I left. Every day I was trapped in my room, in this house, I never could leave! You were barely here, you never talked to me, and Uncle Taylor never bothered to come by."

Alicia steeled herself, "I did what I had to do." She didn't add anymore, one day she would explain her choices, but now it would just fuel the argument.

"And what was that? I was alone. Even after I left, Lucas was hardly there, he was always working. It like I was invisible, just like I was here. Only difference, I wasn't trapped, I was finally free. That's why I never came back, because out there I wasn't trapped by house arrest. I was finally at peace, I was free. There were no limits. I could climb, swim, run – do everything I ever wanted and no one told me I couldn't. No one was there to stop me. I wasn't a sick kid, I wasn't the lieutenant's daughter, I wasn't a traitor, I wasn't anything. No one expected me to be anything."

Her face turned into an unreadable mask, "Why haven't you left then?" She finally asked.

"What?"

"Why haven't you left?"

"You're not on house arrest and you're out of the Infirmary. And you know how to escape the colony undetected, so why haven't you left yet?"

She didn't have an answer, she was perplexed. Why was she still here? She had no reason to be here, but there wasn't a reason to draw her back to the lonely nights with Lucas.

**|~Brother or Mother?~|**

Jim found her alone, away from the crowd just as the festival was beginning. She was pressed up agasint a pillar, arms crossed across her chest and dress cutting at her knees. He'd never met her before, and he didn't know much about her – Wash wasn't too talkative when it came to matters regarding her. He knew there was something between them, he knew something had happened, but he couldn't figure out what.

Natalie saw the cop approach; her eyes were off to the side, focused in on the scene playing out in front of her people were socializing, smiling and laughing. They all seemed to be having a ball, she just wasn't one of them. She wasn't purposely ignoring everyone, she just felt awkward around the people she once considered her peers. They weren't her friends anymore, they weren't her neighbors, they were strangers.

Natalie looked up at Shannon, "Hi."

"Hello. You're Natalie, right? Wash's daughter?"

"I am. Who are you?"

"Jim Shannon, I am the sherif. I have a couple of questions if you don't mind?" He knew he was playing with fire, If Wash found out...no one, not even him, could predict her reaction.

"About what exactly?"

No one was around to overhear his question; "A body buried under Pilgrims Tree. Boylan said you might know something about it."

Natalie frowned, she only knew what everyone knew about Pilgrims Tree, "I don't know anything about a body, but...wait, Boylan?" The pieces to the puzzle she'd been trying to connect for the past few years started to come together, "No, it can't be."

"You know something?" Jim had his doubts, but if she did, he could finally figure out the truth.

Little did he know she had spent a year searching for the truth, "Yes, if it is the body I think it is."

Natalie recalled what Lucas told her, "It happened after the second pilgrimage. Lucas had left the colony, Taylor followed. Lucas was smart, he worked on his calculations often, and he was good at it. He brought someone back – I never got a name, but Taylor killed him."

"Why?"

Natalie shook her head, "Lucas never gave me a reason." She had assumed there was none.

"He told you this?" Jim guessed and Natalie nodded, confirming his thought. "So you've seen him since he went missing," Jim assumed, his thoughts racing.

"Yes and he did not go missing. Taylor pulled a gun on him then banished him."

The sherif absorbed the information and frowned in return. The story wasn't adding up. He doubted she was lying, but that didn't mean her story was valid.

**|~Brother or Mother?~|**

There was only one question that remained on Jim's mind. Taylor had answered any question he had about the general's death and explained Lucas' absence. There was no incertitude he was telling the truth, Jim knew he was being honest about what happened that night.

"How does Natalie fit into all this? What does she have to do with Lucas?"

Taylor paused, his feet remained flat on the floor, unmoving, "You'll have to ask Wash," He decided.

Shannon didn't give up, "Lucas told Natalie you killed General Philbrik in cold-blood." It wasn't word for word, but it was what he took from their little chat.

"She told you that?" If she did, it would make sense, not so much on his son's part, but it would explain her actions.

"Not in so many words, but yes."

Nathaniel nodded, "Natalie looked up to Lucas, thought of him as a big brother, of sorts. When she came through the portal, and learned Lucas wasn't there, she refused to accept he was missing. She started searching for him, sneaking OTG when we weren't looking, skipping school."

"What happened? She found him and decided to stay with him?"

"If only it was that simple, Shannon."

**|~Brother or Mother?~|**

Nathaniel had a few minutes to spare before he had to give his speech, but first be had to clear the air with someone. If Lucas told Natalie one lie, he surely told her more. He could've easily influenced her decision, she was just a child – still is – when she started sneaking out to see Lucas. She was easy prey to turn and then manipulate into his own weapon against the colony.

"Big festival going on, lots of people celebrating, dancing – why aren't you one of them?"

Natalie turned to him, startled by his sudden drop in. She took in a breath to relax her alarmed nerves, "Because I'm not a member of the colony, and that's never going to change. I'm an outsider, I'll never fit in."

He could give her a lecture on what she did wrong, could say she deserved what she got, but he wouldn't. The only thing she deserved right now, was the truth.

He started from the beginning and told her everything he knew. He wasn't trying to convince her to be on their side, but she needed to know the truth, and figure out for herself what Lucas was doing. That she was merely a pawn in his bigger plan. A plan even he didn't know the actual endgame.

Natalie was silent the entire time, even after Nathaniel finished telling her the story. A deafening silence lapped over them and filled the air.

She blinked her eyes, bit her lip and felt her chest rumble ever so slightly as it became clear what Taylor was insinuating.

"He tricked me. He used me to keep him alive. I helped him...I was an idiot. I was stupid enough to believe someone actually cared."

"Your mother cares for you, you just need to give her a chance."

**|~Brother or Mother?~|**

It was the first night in months she let go. Alicia needed a break, desperately, particularly after her most recent debate with Natalie, and the festival more than provided one. After having Malcolm talk her ear off, and watching the fireworks go off, she struck up a conversation with Jim. Taylor popped in and pulled her aside for a much needed break. There's only so much annoying cop you can handle. He insisted on a dance, she insisted it was a bad idea.

But he was persistent, "One dance?"

She finally gave in. She didn't have to look to see the pairs of eyes on them and she didn't have to look to know Jim was smirking at them or to know that he had he snapped a picture. She would have a chat with him about that, but in that moment, she didn't have a care in the world.

The carefree nature was short lived as the dance ended. They had a short conversation before Guzman dropped in and he ducked away. She found him at the top of Command, on the balcony watching over Command, sipping a glass of scotch. She stood a foot away from him and leant against the railing.

"How'd it go?" She'd been meaning to ask him that, but couldn't find the right moment, till now.

"He'll fight," Taylor answered. "He asked about Natalie."

"What you'd say?"

"What he needed to know. Lucas was manipulating her."

"You tell her?"

"I did."

**|~Brother or Mother?~|**

Walking into a pitch black, dead silent, empty-feeling house was an all too familiar feeling. The day she walked home and found it empty she had an argument with Natalie earlier that day, just like today. Only difference, she basically told Natalie she could leave. Alicia flipped on the lights and put her gun away. The house was indeed empty, at least the living room and dining room were, and that's where she expected Natalie to be. She hated being in her room, it held many memories and she tried to do as many activities outside the bedroom as possible.

But that was the last place to check – there was no way she would be in Alicia's room. Alicia slid open the door and to her surprise, hidden under the sheets, nearly missed was Natalie. Alicia took strides over to her bedside.

"Natalie, about Lucas..." Alicia began, but she was cut off as warm arms reached around her neck and clung to her tightly. She was shocked by the sudden contact and there was a delay before Alicia put her arms around her daughter. It was their first hug in years, and she had no idea what caused the sudden change, Natalie certainly wouldn't decide out of the blue. She needed to be guided, needed someone to point out the facts she was oblivious to.

"I care-I care about you. I care," Natalie whispered as she nestled her face into her mother's neck.

**|~Brother or Mother?~| **

Lucas watched the fireworks go off. Somewhere in Terra Nova, Natalie was watching them, like they used to. It marked another year gone by. It wasn't a celebratory event, it just meant he had to get to work on his calculations; he was on deadline.

But knowing Natalie was off in Terra Nova was with his _father_ and her _mother_, being fed whatever lies they tell people these days. He would set her straight and make sure she remembered why she hated them.

He was coming for them, for her.

**|~Brother or Mother?~|**

**I know, I know. Lucas does NOT have a sick obsession with her, his relationship with her is really, really complex. You'll understand when the occupation chapter comes out.**


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